Kaju Badam Kulfi

Hubs likes popsicles a lot. He bought these pretty Popsicle molds and totally forgot about them. Soaring temperatures in So Cal reminded me of popsicles --> popsicle molds --> and ultimately kulfi. I tried this easy kulfi recipe today and surprised hubs by serving it as a refreshing after-office snack.

Ingredients

Condensed Milk – 1 Cup, 5 Oz

Evaporated Milk – 1 Cup, 5 Oz

Almonds and Cashews – ¼ Cup, coarsely ground

Cardamom powder – a pinch

White Bread – 1 Slice (Note – I used cinnamon and raisin bread. J)

Yield – 6 Popsicle sized molds

Method

1. In a large bowl, stir together evaporated milk, cream, condensed milk, cardamom, and nuts. Pour into Popsicle molds or stainless-steel kulfi molds.

                              

2. Freeze for about 5 – 6 hours.

3. Serve these beautiful and delicious kulfis as a desert/ snack and win your loved ones’ hearts.

                              

Spicy Chicken Kabobs

Hubby bought some ground chicken and promised to treat me with some delicious kabobs. Well, that never happened and I happened to debut in making chicken kabobs. The below recipe is pretty easy and you’ll be amazed with the outcome!

Happy Kabobing!! :)

Ingredients

Ground Chicken – 1 Lbs.

Mint Leaves – 1/2 cup, chopped

Coriander Leaves – 1/2 cup, chopped

Curry Leaves – 4 to 5 strands, roasted and crumbled

Green Chilies – 5 to 6, finely chopped

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp.

Garam Masala – 1 1/2 tsp.

Ground Pepper – 1/2 tsp.

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp.

Chili powder – 1 tsp.

Dhanya and Jeera powder – 1 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Olive Oil – 1 tbsp., for greasing the baking pan

Cloves – 5 to 6 nos.

Cardamom – 5 to 6 nos., crushed

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, put chicken and all the other ingredients (except oil, cloves and cardamom). Mix all the ingredients thoroughly till all the spices blend in to the chicken.

2. Take little portions of the mixture and form sausages around the skewers. Make sure the mixture is spread evenly around the skewer.

     Note - If you don’t have skewers, don’t worry. Scoop a small handful into your palm and shape the mixture in to a log.

3. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Take a baking pan and grease it with olive oil. Put cloves and cardamoms on pan and place it in the oven for 2 minutes or till the spices get aromatic.

4. Take the pan out, increase the temperature to 400 degrees F. Place the kabobs on the pan and bake for 30 minutes in total.

5. After about 15 minutes, turn the kabobs over and bake for the remaining 15 minutes.

6. Serve hot with a bed of butter flavored basmati rice and mint yogurt sauce.

Fasttrack Chicken Curry

It’s the same old chicken curry with the same old ingredients. However, the method here is a very easy and a quick one. Try this out and you’ll not be disappointed :)

Ingredients

Chicken – 1/2, skinless and cut into medium sized chunks

Curd/ Yogurt - 2 tbsp

Ginger garlic Paste - 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 3/4 tsp

Chili Powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Coriander and Cumin Powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala – 1 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped

Tomato - 1 medium sized, finely chopped

Chopped Mint Leaves and Cilantro – ½ - 1 cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Curry Leaves – 4 strands

Serves – 2 to 3

Prep time – 5 mins

Cooking time – 20 to 25 mins

Method

1. Wash the chicken thoroughly, put in all the ingredients (except for oil and curry leaves) and mix properly.

2. Take a wok, put oil and let it heat. Once the oil gets heated, put in the chicken mixture and sauté for a few seconds.

3. Cover the wok with a lid and let the chicken cook on medium flame. Cook the chicken until it’s completely done.

Note – Sautee in between for 2 – 3 times.

4. Take the curry leaves, wash them and put them in the microwave till they become really dry and crispy. First set the time for a minute. If it’s crispy enough to crumble, go ahead and crumble the curry leaves. Else, microwave the curry leaves for 40 seconds to 1 minute and crumble them.

5. Add in the crumbled curry leaves in to the cooked chicken curry about 5 minutes before turning off the flame.

6. Serve hot with rice.

American Style Breakfast Biscuits

I first had these amazing biscuits in McDonalds and since then I've been a big fan of these cute little wonders. I wanted to make these at home for a long time now; but alas! However, today I finally decided to make them. They are perfect for breakfast or a snack. You can have these with butter, jam, nutella, eggs, bacon or just by themselves. Am sure you’ll enjoy these bite sized biscuits anywhere, anytime!! J

Ingredients

All-purpose flour (maida) – 2 Cups

Butter – 1/3 Cup, cold and cut in to cubes

Baking Powder – 1 tbsp.

Sugar – 1 tbsp.

Salt – 1 tsp

Milk – ¾ to 1 cup

Note: I did not have baking powder or baking soda while making the biscuits. However, I used “ENO (fruit salt)” as a substitute for the baking powder.

Yield - 23 bite sized biscuits/ 6 - 7 large biscuits

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 420 degrees F/ 215 degrees C.

2. In a big bowl, put all the dry ingredients. Add butter cubes and mix everything together. The mixture will be coarse and dry.

3. Add milk (little by little) to the mixture and knead it in to smooth dough.

4. Place the dough on a floured surface and flatten (by either patting it or by using a rolling pin) it out till it is 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits using a cookie cutter or anything that is round (I used a wide water bottle’s cap).

5. Brush off any excess flour on the biscuits. Place them on to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake the biscuits for 15 – 17 minutes or until the edges begin browning.